Fresh Cherry Cheesecake Tart

This mix up of all my favorite desserts- cherry pie, cheese cake, any and all tarts is the perfect showcase for gloriously sweet fresh summertime cherries.

Fresh Cherry Cheesecake Tart

Because I know what pan I baked this in I’m insisting on calling it a tart even though everyone at dinner last night kept complementing me on the delicious pie.

Bright beautiful fresh summer cherry juice still tints my fingertips, the berry tattoos of summer, a solstice stain. So good. I had forgotten how tasty a cherry could be.

And then the dilemma, what to make with the cherries that would showcase all their glorious color and flavor? And just maybe some cheesecake because, well, I’ve been craving cheesecake—creamy tangy sweet comforting cheesecake. But not too much, it is summer after all. Officially finally summer.

The bitters offer a counterpoint to the added sugar but if you don’t have any on hand lemon juice would also work.

Fresh Cherry Cheesecake Tart

Makes one 9 inch tart

ingredients

• One crust either prepackaged or homemade. I used this one but doubled

• 2 cups fresh sweet cherries pitted and cut in half
• 2 T sugar
• 2 T cornstarch
• 1 tsp. Italian Bitter Liqueur like Campari or Luxardo (or sub fresh lemon juice)

• 6 ounces cream cheese
• ¼ cup yogurt
• ¼ cup sugar
• 1 egg
• ½ tsp. vanilla

directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400F
2. In a medium bowl toss the cherries with the 2 Tbsp. sugar, cornstarch, and liqueur. Set aside.
3. In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade combine the cream cheese, yogurt, sugar, egg, and vanilla. Process until smooth and thoroughly combined.
4. Press your unbaked prepared piecrust into the tart pan. If it is a warm day allow the crust to chill again in the freezer before filling and baking (2-5 minutes)
5. Pour in the cheesecake filling and bake for 15 minutes.
6. Remove the tart from the oven. Turn down the oven to 375F. Top with the cherry mixture and continue to bake until the crust turns golden brown and the cherries are glossy, about 25-30 more minutes. Your cheesecake filling might inflate during baking but it will deflate again as the dish cools.
7. Remove from oven and allow to cool to at least room temperature before serving.
8. Serve cool or at room temperature.

Fresh Cherry Cheesecake Tart

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Ingredients

  

• One crust either prepackaged or homemade. see above for which crust I used
• 2 cups fresh sweet cherries pitted and cut in half
• 2 T sugar
• 2 T cornstarch
• 1 tsp. Italian Bitter Liqueur like Campari or Luxardo or sub fresh lemon juice
• 6 ounces cream cheese
• ¼ cup yogurt
• ¼ cup sugar
• 1 egg
• ½ tsp. vanilla

Instructions

 

• Preheat the oven to 400F
• In a medium bowl toss the cherries with the 2 Tbsp. sugar, cornstarch, and liqueur. Set aside.
• In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade combine the cream cheese, yogurt, sugar, egg, and vanilla. Process until smooth and thoroughly combined.
• Press your unbaked prepared piecrust into the tart pan. If it is a warm day allow the crust to chill again in the freezer before filling and baking (2-5 minutes)
• Pour in the cheesecake filling and bake for 15 minutes.
• Remove the tart from the oven. Turn down the oven to 375F. Top with the cherry mixture and continue to bake until the crust turns golden brown and the cherries are glossy, about 25-30 more minutes. Your cheesecake filling might inflate during baking but it will deflate again as the dish cools.
• Remove from oven and allow to cool to at least room temperature before serving.
• Serve cool or at room temperature.

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